Frontiersmen in imperial Delhi: Regulating Afghans and their moneylending, 1912–49

Abstract

This article traces the complex regulatory efforts directed at Afghans in colonial Delhi to control or distance them from the imperial capital. To the colonial authorities, the Afghan moneylenders who operated within the expanding new imperial capital, providing their services to government employees as well as the growing population, appeared as a new problem in the city. The colonial authorities viewed the Afghan moneylender as a typical ‘goonda’ contributing to disorder. The imperial and provincial administration discussed the possibilities of deportations, extended extraordinary legislation (Goonda Act, 1937) and used high-handed practices to deal with this ‘menace’. Being foreign subjects, the Afghans resisted these regulatory measures by involving the Afghan consulate to defend their socio-economic rights in British India. The need to avoid friction with the Afghan government amidst tensions at the frontier was an enduring consideration when dealing with Afghan moneylenders, especially after the creation of the new nation-state of India.